Free Republic

In a surprising development, CITIGROUP has decided to exit the distressed-debt trading business, sending shockwaves through financial markets. This move is not just a business decision; it’s a signal that the economy might be entering a distressed cycle. Several indicators point to an economic downturn on the horizon. Employment growth has slowed, and the 30-Year Treasury Yield recently closed below 4% for the first time since July. Investors seem to be following an old playbook of buying stocks before an anticipated rate-cutting cycle. However, history warns us that this strategy often ends in tears, as rate cuts are typically a...

White House national security spokesman John Kirby struggled Thursday when asked to name the top foreign policy achievement for President Joe Biden in 2023. During a briefing with reporters — the last of the year — Ed O’Keefe of CBS News asked Kirby to look back over the year and name the most important success. Kirby waffled for a moment, saying that he was running out of time, and suggesting that Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wanted him to go.

NATIONAL FRENCH FRIED SHRIMP DAY On December 21st, seafood lovers celebrate National French Fried Shrimp Day. Enjoyed all year long, this delicious dish delights many across the country. #FrenchFriedShrimpDay Americans eat more shrimp than any other seafood. The word prawn is used loosely to describe any large shrimp, sometimes known as jumbo shrimp. Some countries use the word prawn exclusively for all shrimp. Preparing the shrimp for consumption usually involves the removal of the head, shell, tail, and sand vein. There are many ways to cook shrimp. Common methods of preparation include baking, boiling, broiling, sauteing, frying, and grilling. Cooking...

Some people were born to take on noble causes, whether they be fighting societal injustices or righting terrible wrongs or whatever. Mine, today at least, is defending eggnog, the long-maligned holiday drink you all like to shit on come every December 1. And because I have to get back to my other noble causes (I also need to tackle foods that help people lose weight, should they so choose, and something else today that I can't quite remember), we're going to make this quick: Eggnog is great, and anyone who says otherwise is a Grinch-y killjoy who doesn't deserve dairy.

(Trailer Videos at link..................) LOS ANGELES, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- You didn't need to go to the theaters to see some of the worst movies of the year. Streaming originals have been a force in Hollywood for at least 10 years now, so perhaps it is a sign that they've made it when major streaming titles can join vapid blockbusters among the worst of the year. Even arthouse offerings had some letdowns, from usually reliable filmmakers like Wes Anderson and Emerald Fennell. Perhaps nothing this year was as frustrating as last year's The Bubble, or as toxic as Ticket to...

On social media, he is always attacking Nikki Haley, and Vivek sometimes. He posts links praising DeSantis. He talks about how bad Biden is for Israel, and Israel has been the main thing he's posted about the past couple of months, but he doesn't want the Republican Primary to end and for the candidates to line up behind Trump. If there were a bunch of candidates primarying Netanyahu, Levin would be bashing them. From what I have heard, his son-in-law works for DeSantis. We all know that Levin is naturally more of a DeSantis guy than a Trump guy, because...

California is projected to lose four congressional seats after the 2030 Census, with Texas positioned to gain four and Florida to gain three, says the American Redistricting Project based on this week’s new Census data. According to Thad Kousser, an expert in California and national politics and a professor of political science at UC San Diego, a reduction in California’s congressional delegation could have mixed effects. The contrast between California and Florida, which are each governed by respective Democratic and Republican trifectas — is not only evident in projected apportionment, but in the recent national debate and ongoing sparring between...

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Thursday touted the achievements his department has made over the last year and gave Americans pointers on air travel before they take off for the holiday season. “This year we have seen some of the busiest air traffic days in U.S. history. And so far, this year, our aviation system has been handling the increased volume well,” Buttigieg said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “In fact, cancelations are lower than they were before the pandemic, and we’re pushing hard to keep it that way.”

Jim Hoft earlier this week dropped a bombshell that 177 of Jeffrey Epstein’s high profile associates are in for a New Year’s surprise as they will be named in court documents set to be released in the first days of 2024....Now, a NewsNation report suggests that a famous former friend of Epstein’s should be particularly nervous.NewsNation reporter Dray Clark went on air last night and dropped this juicy news: Dray said that a FORMER PRESIDENT would be among the names released and several other high-profile people.Clark: Many of those names that will come out are known and notable, including a...

Harvard’s embattled president, Claudine Gay, has quietly built a “diversity” empire over the course of her career, which has “influenced every facet of university life,” says conservative activist and CRT expert Christopher Rufo. Gay oversaw the Harvard’s racially discriminatory admissions program — which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional — as dean of the largest faculty on the Ivy League university’s campus between 2018 and the summer of 2023, Rufo said in an article for City Journal.

The five people gathered around the restaurant table do not fit the profile of colon cancer patients. They’re female, and they’re young. Two were diagnosed in their 20s, one in her 30s, two in their early 40s. Their colon cancer support group gathers about once a month to share stories, such as the one about the doctor who said you just need a laxative, the one about the oncologist who said there’s nothing we can do for you but give you chemotherapy the rest of your life, the one about friends saying, “You don’t look sick,” without realizing that isn’t...

According to my doctors office today, there will be no more standalone flu vaccinations next year. They will be combined with covid.

Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy, days after being ordered to pay $148 million in a defamation lawsuit brought by two former election workers in Georgia who said his targeting of them led to death threats that made them fear for their lives. In his filing Thursday, the former New York City mayor listed nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts, including close to a million dollars in tax liabilities, money he owes his lawyers and many millions of dollars in potential legal judgements in lawsuits against him. He estimated his assets to be between $1 million and $10...

An airline passenger has been accused of swiping $23,000 in cash from carry-on luggage belonging to his fellow travelers during a short flight from Vietnam to Singapore. Zhang Xiuqiang, a 52-year-old Chinese national, was arrested at Changi Airport Saturday and slapped with three theft counts on suspicion of ransacking the bags of three passengers. The suspect and victims were traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore aboard a flight operated by Scoot Airline, the low-budget subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. During the two-hour flight, Zhang pilfered about $123 from one passenger’s backpack and helped himself to nearly $21,000 that he...

Hulk Hogan and his wife, Sky Daily Hogan, were baptized at the Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Florida. The wrestling icon announced the news through an Instagram post on Wednesday. Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan is clearly saying his prayers and eating his vitamins, even as he enters his seventies, proving it by getting baptized alongside his better half. The Hulkster and Skye performed a Swanton bomb off the top rope and dove headfirst into their faith. No, not literally. The couple were fully submerged in water as part of the holy christening process. Hogan described the experience...

On Tuesday night, the Colorado Supreme Court of Democrat-appointed justices ruled the state will not allow President Donald Trump ‘s name on the state’s ballots for the 2024 election. They claim this is due to his incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riot – something he’s never been charged for or convicted of. Trump has not been charged with engaging in insurrection or rebellion against the United States. This undemocratic move is unprecedented in the history of the United States except for one other time. Back in 1860 the Democrats removed Abraham Lincoln’s name from the ballots in...

The best part of this video is the first minute showing the faces, and obvious disappointment, of Morning Joe and his wife.

A Democrat congressional candidate has provoked outrage for wearing a U.S. Army uniform while giving a speech during a Veterans Day event. Newly emerged images show that Curtis Hertel wore an Army-issued physical fitness jacket during a Veterans Day event on November 11, 2023, in Lansing, Michigan. Hertel, a Democrat former Michigan state senator who is now running for the House of Representatives in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, has never served in the military. A group of Michigan veterans is calling on Hertel to apologize for wearing part of a U.S. Army-issued uniform. The group wrote a letter to Hertel...

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday he believes his liberal colleagues are hoping he gets another blood clot and dies. “What I have found out over the last couple years is that the right, and now the left, are hoping that I die. There are ones that are rooting for another blood clot. They have both now been wishing that I die,” Fetterman said in the interview with the New York Times. The comments come after Fetterman made news by breaking with Democrats over support for Israel, calling for the resignation of New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez after...

Former Attorney General Bill Barr argued Wednesday that Colorado’s ruling disqualifying former President Trump from the state’s ballot will be “counterproductive,” as he is a person who “feeds on grievances” and will use the decision to reinforce his narrative. Asked on CNN for his initial reaction to the ruling, Barr said: “I think this kind of action of stretching the law, taking these hyperaggressive positions to try to knock Trump out of the race are counterproductive. They backfire.” “As you know, he feeds on grievance, just like a fire feeds on oxygen. And this is going to end up...